In 2008, the Czech government implemented a major overhaul of the personal income tax (PIT),
replacing the previous progressive rate schedule with a single 15% rate levied on an enlarged base. This
was accompanied by significant changes to the corporate income tax (CIT) and an increase in the
concessionary rate of value added tax (VAT) applied to many goods and services. The reform made the tax
system more transparent and was broadly consistent with OECD recommendations concerning pro-growth
tax reform. These tax changes followed the adoption of significant changes to the benefit system,
particularly housing and social assistance benefits, in 2006-07. This paper describes the main elements of
these tax and benefit reforms and provides an initial assessment of their impact, with particular emphasis
on changes in the effective tax rates of workers and firms. It begins with an overview of the systems and a
summary of recent changes. This is followed by an evaluation of those reforms. A final section explores
the scope for further reforms in future.
This paper relates to the 2010 OECD Economic Survey of the Czech Republic.
(www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/czech).
